Find out how popular the last name Penales is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Penales.

Penales, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Penales surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penales in America

Penales is the 144141st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penales surname appeared 115 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Penales.

The history of the last name Penales

The surname Penales has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Spain and Portugal. It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, possibly as early as the 11th or 12th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "penal," which means "rocky" or "cliff-like." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or on a rocky or cliff-like terrain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Penales can be found in the Cartulario de Celanova, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that contains records of land transactions and other legal documents. This manuscript mentions a person named Rodrigo Penales, who was involved in a land dispute in the region of Galicia, Spain.

In the 14th century, there are records of a nobleman named Juan Penales who was a knight in the service of the King of Aragon. He is mentioned in several chronicles of the time for his military exploits during the Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle between Christian and Muslim rulers on the Iberian Peninsula.

Another notable person with the surname Penales was Diego Penales, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator. He was part of the expeditions led by Juan Ponce de León, which explored and mapped parts of the Florida coast and the Bahamas Islands in the early 1500s.

In Portugal, the earliest known reference to the surname Penales dates back to the 15th century. There are records of a wealthy merchant named Manuel Penales who lived in Lisbon and traded with other European nations, particularly with England and the Netherlands.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Penales surname spread to the Spanish colonies in the Americas, particularly in Mexico and Peru. One notable figure was Juan Penales, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

Throughout history, the Penales surname has been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Peñales, Penhal, and Penhal de Castro, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and orthography. Despite these variations, the core meaning and origin of the name remain tied to its rocky or cliff-like roots in the Iberian Peninsula.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penales

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Penales.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Penales was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Penales was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Penales, please contact us.

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